Canvasback Ducks Roasted Garnished with Hominy or Samp

Pick the feathers from some nice Havre-de-Grace canvasback ducks, each one to weigh three pounds, prepare them for roasting as described (No. 179), lay them on a spit to roast before a brisk fire for sixteen to twenty minutes, more or less according to their size; untruss and dress on to a very hot dish, surround with squares of hominy dipped in eggs and bread-crumbs, then fried, present them whole to the guests, remove to carve and place on very hot plates with a piece of hominy for each person.

Hominy and Samp (Crushed Corn).—Cook some hominy in boiling salted water, spread it on a baking sheet in a five-eights of an inch thick layer and when cold cut it into oblongs one inch wide by two and a half inches long, dip them in eggs and bread-crumbs and fry to a fine color, then drain, salt and dress on folded napkins. Samp is a species of Indian corn crushed to the size of small peas; it should be soaked in cold water for several hours, then cooked in a covered saucepan with water, salt and butter for three hours, placed in a slack oven after it has boiled up once. Put it to cool on a dish, divide it into inch and three-quarters balls, flatten, keeping them thin on the edges and thick in the center, dip in eggs and bread-crumbs and fry nicely to a fine color